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National Collection of Library Materials :
The National Library's Overseas Collecting Policy

The National Library is responsible for maintaining and developing a national collection of library materials, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the Australian people.

To this end, the Library collects and preserves a range of Australian materials including printed publications, manuscripts, pictures, photographs and oral history recordings. The Library also collects selected printed publications from other parts of the world to provide an understanding of major world social, political, cultural, intellectual and scientific developments.

For pragmatic reasons the National Library has always been highly selective in acquiring material from overseas. A continuing increase in the world's publishing output and the rising cost of library materials means that no single library can hope to obtain enough material to meet all the possible information needs of its clients. The National Library has had to be increasingly selective in what it can acquire, and has had to rely on commercial document supply services to provide its users with items not held by the Library.

In order to make the best possible use of their limited resources, Australian libraries have begun to cooperate in developing their collections to ensure that, collectively, they will acquire the widest possible range of library materials. Like other libraries, the National Library specialises in collecting some overseas materials in depth, while in other subject areas it does not collect material, but relies on the collections of other Australian libraries as well as international document supply arrangements.

While the economic factor has made it increasingly difficult for the National Library to acquire large numbers of published items from overseas, technology has assisted the Library to some extent in providing access to overseas material which is not part of the Library's collection. Information is becoming increasingly available through the Internet in the form of electronic journals and newspapers, specialist subject sites and digitised documents. This means that in some cases the Library can provide access to the information without having to collect the item. This form of access is seen as an adjunct to the Library's collections of printed materials from overseas.

Building on already substantial collections, the National Library continues to acquire the following materials from overseas:

  • a collection of materials likely to be of general public interest and designed to provide an understanding of world events and issues. This collection, strongly based in the social sciences, but covering a wide range of topics, includes major biographical works, historical descriptions of major movements, surveys of general developments, international comparative studies, new analyses and forecasts. Topics covered in the collection include politics and economics, and works giving a broad overview in the fields of education, the environment, energy, science, technology and public health. Major works on arts, the humanities and literature are also collected.

  • materials relating to South-East Asia, East Asia, South Asia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. The Library has world-class collections in these areas, and has developed considerable expertise in acquiring, processing and handling materials from this region. The Library's current collecting from this area concentrates mainly on contemporary culture and society, modern history and politics.

  • government publications. The National Library acquires a wide range of government publications from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan. In addition a selected number of government publications from the United Kingdom are purchased. Publications of the United Nations, its subsidiary bodies, and other inter-governmental organisations are also collected.

  • specific subjects. The Library collects overseas materials to support its own activities and interests such as information technology, library science, management, preservation, exhibitions and copyright. Cartographic materials and works in international law are also acquired by the Library in the absence of sustained collecting by any other Australian institution.

Currently, a budget of $2.5-$3 million is allocated to the collecting of overseas materials for the national collection. This equates to approximately 20 000 books and 15 000 periodicals received annually.

The National Library is currently preparing a new edition of its overseas collection development policy, which will provide more detailed descriptions of its overseas collecting.


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NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA, Canberra, ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA, ABN: 28 346 858 075
Telephone + 61 2 6262 1111; Facsimile +61 2 6257 1703; TTY: 1800 026 372

This page last modified: 29-Nov-2002

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